


The Romeo and Juliet Remix

by Iamtheoneandonly



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Angst, Guilt, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Secret identites, Steve is an emotional octopuss
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-17
Updated: 2016-01-17
Packaged: 2018-05-14 09:41:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,626
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5738845
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Iamtheoneandonly/pseuds/Iamtheoneandonly
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After Victor Hesse threatens his family, British SAS member Ben Daniels (aka Fox), moves his family to New Jersey, where he changes his name and becomes a detective. Occasionally working cases for the CIA.</p><p>Five years and one divorce later, he moves to Hawaii to follow his daughter, ex-wife and her stupid NSA new husband.</p><p>Six months after that, he meets Steve McGarrett, the latest victim of Hesse’s quest for revenge against those who’ve hurt him.</p><p>It all goes downhill from there really…</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Romeo and Juliet Remix

_Hawaii 2010_

 

“Steven, I don’t care that you’re some ex-SEAL ninja, it’s no excuse for ignoring proper procedure!”

 

“Oh come on Danny! I only put him in that cage for a little while!” Steve tries to argue back and fails, if Danny’s glare is any indication.

 

And honestly, what does he expect? Danny’s never been in the special forces, where you have a carte blanche to do whatever you need to, to get the job done. Maybe next time he’ll take Danny with him when he goes on a training mission, just so he knows what it’s like.

 

“You are an idiot and I have no idea why I ever agreed to be your partner! Oh wait, I didn’t!” Danny continues to rant and he rolls his eyes.

 

“Danny, it got the job done, I don’t see what the problem is?”

 

Danny sighs and throws up his hands, “Whatever, getting sense into you is like getting blood from stone”

 

—————————

 

_Brecon Beacons 2000_

 

The sergeant rubs a hand over his face and leans back in his chair, “Fox, do you have anything to say for yourself?”

 

Fox, aka Ben Daniels smirks and smooths a hand over his decidedly un-regulation blonde hair, “It was means to an end sir?” He tries with a smirk.

 

“You dangled a terrorist out of a moving helicopter” He states.

 

“We needed the intel he had!” He justifies

 

“I’m sick of dealing with you Fox. Just try to tone down the ‘interrogation techniques’” He sighs, “Dismissed” He adds, massaging his temples. He winks and leaves, swagger in his step.

 

Outside, the rest of the unit are waiting, leaning against the wall of the hut, “So, what did he say” Eagle ribs him.

 

“Not to do it again” He laughs and they all join in, he’s known for his unorthodox techniques out in the field and if he isn’t in the sergeants office getting reamed out, then it’s not considered a successful mission.

 

There’s group back slaps and they all head off towards the mess hall for their evening slop. The black clouds closing in and promising rain, which is _great,_ because they’ve got a ten mile night run tonight.

 

Fucking wonderful… 

 

—————

 

_Hawaii 2012_

 

Hawaii’s freak weather sometimes reminds him of the Beacons, the heavy torrential rain that was a constant presence in Wales. At least here, it clears up quickly and doesn’t get down to sub-zero temperatures.

 

He’s currently standing outside the British consulate, dressed in comfy black cargos and matching tee. If Steve saw him now, he’d never here the end of it. But luckily Super-SEAL is on the other side of the island, investigating a murder. He’s cited a doctor’s appointment and now here he is, waiting on the British director of special operations to arrive for talks with the governor about possible joint missions. He really hopes that he and Steve don’t get dragged into it, because then he’d have to put up with Steve asking him questions about why exactly he’s lied about who he is. Steve gets very sensitive about these things.

 

He spots the convoy of black SUVs coming down the road and signals for the three other guards to stay alert for any threats as they get closer.

 

He’s the one who spots the semi approaching, far too fast to be able to stop in time at the intersection. He knows an ambush when he sees one and radios to the convoy to alert them before indicating for his team to take aim. They pull out their assault rifles, only going to fire if absolutely necessary, this is supposed to be covert.

 

The convoy splits, the first three speeding up towards the gates and the back three slamming on the brakes to avoid the truck, which glides through the intersection and comes to halt in the middle, blocking them from view. The Governor’s already inside so he’s safe. It’s the director he’s worried about.

 

He reverts back to his training and indicates for them to approach, guns raised. The SUV’s that made it have already made it inside and now he’s fully focussed on the scene in front of him.

 

It passes in a blur, there’s shooting, and he’s vaguely aware of getting grazed in the arm. He takes three down right away as they spill from the truck. He still can’t get a visual on the director’s car, and they’re pinned down, taking heavy fire. He can hear sirens in the distance and knows that this could easily turn into a bloodbath.

 

He comes up with a very Steve-like plan, and motions for the others to start moving forward, creeping past parked cars.

 

It goes off smoothly, well there’s bodies lying the road, but they’re all the bad guys so he counts it as a win. The directors fine, and he drives him personally into the compound and delivers him to the conference room with the governor. He knows and tells him to get changed, five-0 will be investigating this. Wonderful.

 

He wraps his arm and covers it with a shirt and tie. He’s not a big fan of them, but he’s got scars from an IED in Afghanistan that he can’t explain within the identity of ‘Danny Williams’. Career cop and New Jersey native.

 

The others all have clearance and are briefed not to let on that they know him. He’s got his gun and badge clipped on and is pretending to interview witnesses when Steve pulls up in his truck.

 

He explains what’s happened and Steve nods, the bodies have all been identified by Interpol as various criminals. All noticeably European, so the director was definitely the target.

 

He lets Steve interrogate the few ones who are still alive. Although he misses the days when _he_ used to be the one known for the more… interesting techniques.Sometimes he wishes that he could tell Steve about his past, only to finally be able to wipe that smug look off his face when he takes him down. He’s been dying to be able to use his skills and hates having the revert to Steve’s when they’re in a pinch.

 

He knows he’s in trouble when the no-nonsense PA of the director comes up to him and tells him that he wants to speak with him. He gives Steve some excuse and follows her into the consulate.

 

Alan Blunt is arguably one of the dullest people he’s ever met. He just looks so grey and he can’t remember even seeing the man smile in the years he’s known him. He stands to attention in front of the man, the governor standing off to the side.

 

“At ease Agent, you’re not being disciplined for this. We need to inform you what we know about the attack”

 

He relaxes but keeps his eyes averted from the man, “Yes sir”

 

“It’s Hesse, the facial ID’s we’ve gotten all have ties to his operations. But this was messy and now we’re uncertain if he’s after you or using you to get to Commander McGarrett. As far as we know your cover hasn’t been blown”

 

“Should I be worried about my family?” He asks.

 

“We already have agents on them, one as the new gardener and one as the driver. We’ve also bugged the place just in case. You ex-wife has been alerted to the danger as has Agent Edwards.”

 

He breathes a sigh of relief, “What are my orders?”

 

The governor steps in, “Make the link to Hesse, but don’t give yourself away, keep an eye on McGarrett as well. He’s smart and one wrong move could easily out you”

 

“Yes ma’am, am I free to go?” He needs to get back to Steve.

 

“Of course, good luck Agent” Blunt nods and waves a hand to dismiss him.

 

He walks back out into the sunshine to Steve, whose chatting with Jenkins, a hulking ex-Navy guard. They seems to be chatting about missions and he coughs to get their attention. Steve says goodbye and turns to him.

 

“Right so they ran facial rec on our guys and they think they’re connected to Hesse”

 

“Shit, fucking bastard’s not dead” Steve breathes angrily.

 

“It can’t be a coincidence he struck here Steve, he’s sending a message” He says, hating to lie to Steve but it needs to be done.

 

“Let’s head over to Halawa, I think we need to have a little chat with Sang Min”

 

He shudders at the thought of that mullet, “Okay, let’s go” He agrees, handing over the keys without prompting. One day he’s going to get himself a Humvee and drive that in instead, just to show Steve.

 

——————

 

_Iraq 2001_

 

“Fox, you gonna keep driving like my Granny or we will actually make it back to base sometime this century” Snake teases him from the passenger seat, assault rifle casual against his chest, sunglasses on and scanning the horizon for any sign of trouble.

 

“Fuck off arsehole, at least we’ll make it back to base _alive._ Not that my sanity will if Eagle won’t _shut the fu-“_

 

He’s blinded by a loud flash and resounding boom, the vehicle lurches and dips, coming to a juddering stop. Shit, an IED. 

 

The lighthearted mood is gone and they’re all on alert instantly. He looks to Wolf for instruction.

 

“Eagle, man the top gun, Fox you and me will take ground patrol. Snake, you radio for an evac” Wolf commands, checking his weapon and nodding.

 

The hop out carefully, scouting the area for any sign of insurgents. But they’re way out in the flat desert, almost impossible for anyone to hide. Nevertheless in any war zone you’ve gotta be on alert.

 

The smell hits him suddenly and he and his commander share a look before yelling for everyone to get out of the vehicle. They can smell petrol, which is never good.

 

Snake and Eagle hear the urgency in their voices and both jump out, guns raised, and thankfully Snake has the sat phone on him.

 

“Petrol” Is all Wolf says and then they’re all running for their lives back along the road they’ve been along. It goes up with another boom, throwing them all onto the ground, and there’s dust in his mouth. They pick themselves up and look around to where their only protection was. Now they’re alone in the desert in the open. Fucking great, he hates this bloody desert.

 

“So, anyone fancy a little hike?” Snake says with a small smile.

 

—————————

 

Sang Min is his usual self, and still hasn’t lost that stupid haircut. Even worse, he’s no help, and has been totally out of the loop since he got put away and stop being of use to Hesse.

 

Steve barely holds it together and when they get back to the office everyone avoids him. Kono gives him a look and he shrugs, SEALs are known for their toddler like tempers and tantrums. His old unit would never let him hear the end of it that he ended up with one as his boss.

 

He retreats to his own office, to start on the paperwork. He looks up and hour later to see someone coming through the doors, dressed in military uniform.

 

Fuck, that’s once face from the past he hadn’t expected to see. Snake looks as good as ever, older perhaps but they haven’t seen each other in seven years, so that’s to be expected.

 

Steve comes out of his office with a scowl on his face and hears their exchange of words. Snake must have been read into the mission as he gives no indication of their previous relationship. He comes out with a confused look on his face, just for Steve’s benefit.

 

“And you are…?” He asks.

 

Snake holds out a hand, “Captain Kenneth Rodgers. Call me Snake. I’ve been assigned as MI6 liaison to help you with Hesse”

 

He takes it reluctantly, desperate to ask him what the hell Blunt’s thinking, “Great another G.I Joe, we’ve already got Super SEAL here” He mutters and avoids Snake’s shocked look.

 

They can talk later, when they’re alone.

 

———————

 

He’s fully expecting the knock at his door late that night, way after normal people have gone to bed. Snake’s holding a six-pack in one hand and pizza in the other. He lets him in with a smirk. They makes themselves comfy on the sofa.

 

“So Fox, Hawaii? Guess it didn’t work out with Rachel huh?”

 

He takes a drag of his beer and lets out a cold laugh, “Don’t think she ever got over having to move and change her identity because of Hesse. But at least Grace likes it here.”

 

Snake shrugs, “At least you’ve got someone else whose after him with you. A SEAL no less, you’ve really sunk to new lows Daniels, not that you were that high to begin with” He ends with a laugh.

 

He punches him in the shoulder, “Fuck you Rodgers”

 

They talk for the rest of the night, he gets filled in to what they’re all up to. Turns out the rest of the unit has descended on the island and he gets informed that they’ll be popping up as various tourists and ‘witnesses’ just to steer Steve in the right direction.

 

It’s three in the morning and they both have work in a few hours, “Look man, I’ve gotta go. I’ll see you later alright?” Snake gets up and gives him a hug before leaving. He hears the rental car pull away outside.

 

He’s not sure how he’s going to cope with both Steve and the SAS on the island.

 

————————

 

Eagle turns up, quite hilariously, as Rachel’s chef. He’s picking Grace up and spots him, coat, hat, and al,l serving up dinner. They share a look and he can’t wait to rib him about it later. But right now he’s got reservations at a restaurant and his daughter’s talking a mile a minute about whatever’s taken her fancy this week. Still, he can’t resist snapping a quick photo for blackmail purposes.

 

——————————

 

He meets Wolf again posing as a British mercenary sailor who witnessed Hesse’s bloody trail to get out of the docks. Which means he’s here on the islands, and his tension rackets up a notch. This is it, this will be the final time he lets the guy get away. This ends here and now.

 

He lets Chin do the honours of pinning him down to a safe house out in the jungle. Stays out of the way as he’s brought out in cuffs by SuperSEAL. It’s a little anti-climatic and he watches from a distance, unsure whether the man will recognise him or not. Better safe than sorry. It’s not like Hesse has anything to lose by keeping his true identity a secret.

 

Things get a lot more complex when he returns to the office later, after sorting out the scene with HPD. Steve comes out of the interrogation room shaking his head, grim look on his face.

 

“He came it with a group of girls, trafficked from China. He won’t tell us where they are” Steve explains. Well fuck, it’d take far to long to search every container at the docks, they’d all be long dead by then. There’s only one other option.

 

He sighs and looks away, “Steve, let me have a go with him okay?” He asks.

 

“Danny, no offence, but if I can’t break him….”

 

“Just trust me” He pleads and doesn’t wait for Steve’s answer before going in, locking the door behind him and disconnecting the cameras. This isn’t a conversation meant to be recorded.

 

Hesse’s bloodied face stares back at him, full of shock, “Ben Daniels, I’ve been looking for you. Heard you were still alive, didn’t know you’d partnered up with McGarrett” He laughs mirthlessly.

 

“Shut up asshole, now you’re gonna listen to me. There are a load of innocent girls somewhere on this island, dying and you’re gonna tell me where they are” He states.

 

Hesse laughs again, “Now why would I do that?”

 

He slides something out of his pocket and shows it to Hesse. It has the desired effect and Hesse takes a deep breath.

 

“When I got assigned this, I got full means to do whatever was needed to bring you down. Do you think the British government’s gonna care about two people. They can easily spin that they had ties to you, just think your lovely wife and little boy. Dead because of you. Not so nice when it’s personal is it?”

 

Hesse scowls and looks away then turns back to him, sighing, and there’s a tense moment when he thinks that Hesse isn’t gonna break.

 

Finally, he speaks,“Fine, you win Daniels. Northwest corner, red container from a Chinese shipping company, came in yesterday afternoon. Now, please, I beg of you. Don’t kill them, they’re not involved” Hesse actually sounds broken, and triumph floods him. It’s finally over, he’s finally safe.

 

“Pleasure talking to you leprechaun. Now I wouldn’t tell Steve about my real identity, could get awfully… messy” He says, smirking as he walks back over to the door and leaves.

 

Steve’s standing outside, pacing, “What happened? the cameras went off”

 

“Northwest corner, red Chinese shipping container that arrived yesterday afternoon, let’s go” He’s not in the mood for this.

 

Because now that his mission’s over, he’ll have to leave five-0…

 

———————————————

 

The girls are safe, Hesse is in custody of the Navy, his old unit have disappeared, presumably into a bar , either that or back to Wales, and he’s here, in Steve’s backyard, beer in hand.

 

“You know, I can’t actually believe it’s actually over. He’s gone and I’m safe, Mary’s safe, we’re all safe” Steve says slowly and quietly, not wanting to disturb the peace of the evening.

 

You and me both mate, is what he thinks, taking a sip of the god-awful stuff that American’s consider beer. He’d do anything for a pint of London Pride right about now.

 

“What are we going to do now?”

 

Steve looks at him oddly, “What do you mean? We’re five-0, we keep fighting crime. It’s what we do”

 

He manages to get out a smile and nod just to reassure Steve. He’s leaving the island, not that Hesse is gone he can come out of hiding and return to his former line of work. As far as he knows, the jet booked to take the rest of his unit back, will have him on as well. 

 

He has no idea what to do about Grace, she doesn’t remember that she was born in England and it’ll break her to see him go. With any luck he’ll be able to visit her between missions. It’s not like he hasn’t got eight years worth of pay from the British Government stacked up back home.

 

He also has no idea how he’ll tell Steve. It’s not like he can give him the truth and at this rate, it’s going to be faking his death or having to deal with Steve breathing down his neck for the rest of his life. It’s not the guy’ll let him go easy.

 

It doesn’t matter now, he’s got forty-eight hours to get his affairs in order before the flight out. He’ll have it sorted by then.

 

————————

 

It’s not the finest plan, but it was either that or fake his death and he really doesn’t want to do that. Steve’s emotionally repressed, but not _that_ emotionally repressed.

 

He’d call Steve on the way to the private air field that they’re taking off from, putting as much emotion into his voice as he can. He explains about the car accident that has killed his parents in Jersey, (in actual fact they’re probably asleep right now in their place in Surrey), and how he needs to go home to support his sisters , especially now Matt, (or Agent Trey Langer of the CIA) has supposedly run off with the Columbians, (last he heard, it was only a few weeks before they would be completely taken down). And that he doesn’t know when he’ll be back, (probably never). It’s clear he woke Steve up and that he hasn’t quite processed it yet by the time he hangs up. Thank God.

 

He spends long minutes, watching the landscape go by, trying not to let the doubt in his mind overwhelm him.

 

He has no idea if this is the right decision. Well, it’s not like he actually had a _choice._

 

———————

 

_Columbia - Six months later._

 

He really didn’t want to take this mission, not because he doesn’t enjoy being a SEAL, but more because trying to extract a valuable CIA agent from the cartel that took Danny’s brother, just makes him feel the loss more keenly.

 

It’s been six months since he left for Jersey and they’ve barely talked. Not for lack of trying, but apparently Danny’s busy sorting out his parents estate and keeping the family together. His sisters’ all have large families and during their last conversation, he’d said how it may not be possible for him to return, ever.

 

He didn’t really know how much Danny meant to him before he left, and something just isn’t sitting right with him since then. They’ve been assigned Meka Hanamoa, Danny’s old partner in the interim but at this rate, it’s looking like it’s going to become a permanent placement.

 

But he’d had no choice but to do it. He’s still in the reserves and that requires that he actually go and do some work with the SEALs every now and again. He’s left Chin in charge and he’s sure that nothing’s gonna happen while he’s gone.

 

They’ve only been given a name, Trey Langer, as their target. Apparently, he’s been the one dismantling the cartel from the inside. That may be the only reason he can come up with of why to do this mission. Revenge for Danny and his brother. Hell, maybe he can pick up Matt while he’s here, that would work as an excellent way to get Danny back to the islands.

 

They’re coming up on the compound where Marco Reyes has been running his doomed operation. He grips his gun tighter as he and his team move forward stealthily. They pause at the tree line, observing the place. It’s a huge mass of metal and wood, modern, but seemingly fitting in with the trees around them. He has to admit that Reyes has taste.

 

They all know the plan, having gone over it three times on the plane here, it’s simple. Get in, get Langer and blow the place up. Not hard.

 

Getting in surprisingly easy, clearly Reyes doesn’t think that security is a big issue here in the middle of the jungle. The place is eerily silent as they creep past the huge kitchen and glass dining table. Behind him, one of the men is setting charges for later.

 

They finally do hear something from one of the bedrooms, a murmured conversation. They all stop outside, listening in.

 

“You can’t be here! I called for help, this place will be overrun at any time. Just get what you came for and go, you don’t need to worry about me anymore…bro”

 

Shit, he knows that voice, it’s Matt. He wonders who he’s talking to.

 

“Oh Wonderful” Comes a clipped British accent, “You remember the nut job I worked with, think of a whole team of them. You’ll be lucky to get out alive!”

 

He holds up a hand to stop them going in, he needs to find out more.

 

There’s a wait and some muffled ‘yes’’s and ‘mm-hmm’s, then Matt speaks again, “Go, I’ll call you when I’m out of here. I want to know how you’ve explained why you’re here, as I recall, the guy was pretty overprotective of you, I didn’t think he’s ever let you off the leash”

 

“Fuck off you bastard. I’m not some pet” Is the lasts words said, then there’s footsteps heading away from the door. They need to act, now.

 

He breaks the door down with his foot, Matt startling but not looking overly surprised to see them there.

 

“Agent Trey Langer?” One of his men asks.

 

He’s about to correct the guy when Matt nods, “That’s me, badge number 7896, code: Delta-Alfa-November-November-Yankee” He confirms.

 

It’s not lost on him that that spells ‘Danny’. But the questions can wait till later, they’ve still got a mission to complete, and he’s got a partner to get back.

 

“Great, wonderful, you can explain to your brother all of this later. Now let’s go” He says shortly, annoyance growing as Matt or Trey should he call him?, Shrugs and pulls out the gun from the waistband of his pants, indicating for them to go.

 

Of course, that’s when they discover that they’re not the only special forces in the building, they come across the group in the lower levels, in the garage. All piling into a large Jeep. Which is actually quite a good idea, would save walking back to civilisation.

 

There’s a tense standoff for a few minutes, which includes a lot of pointing guns at each other, until Matt comes between them, hand’s raised and eyes wide.

 

“Guys, chill out, we’re all on the same side” He yells.

 

“Langer” His Commander yells back, “Who the hell are these people?”

 

“SAS, British Special forces” Matt replies easily, cocky attitude showing through.

 

They lower their guns slowly, still suspicious of the other group. And he wonders what the hell they want at this place, clearly one of them was who Matt was talking to earlier.

 

The Brits all jump out of the Jeep and stand in a line, still masked.

 

“Well what do we do from here?” One of the Brit’s asks, voice muffled by his mask.

 

“How about we all go and drink some of that expensive liquor upstairs, I’m gonna assume you’ve killed Reyes” He calls back, may as well make nice with the allies. They might let them get a lift back.

 

“You know what, that’s an excellent idea. How about it Foxy?” 

 

There’s a hissed conversation between the two, one of who he assumes is this ‘foxy’, before one of them pulls out a sheaf of papers and a pen with a sigh.

 

“At my teammates insistence, here, before you get to see our beautiful faces, you need to sign these” The tall one says, hoping out of the Jeep and sauntering over to them, handing them over. 

 

It’s the British Official Secrets Act and he scrawls his name without a second thought. The sooner he can get out of here, the sooner he can get Danny back to the islands after his brother’s explained why he really went with the Columbians.

 

He feels out of place here, in this fancy house, still dressed in his BDUs with mud all over him. Naturally the Brit’s look pristine, which is just unfair, in their form-fitting sleek, black outfits. They probably have ties on under all that. Damn, why does everything remind him of Danny?

 

They all trek up there together, but Matt pulls him aside just before the corridor opens up into the kitchen.

 

“Look Steve, I gotta warn you. Just don’t kill him”

 

“What the hell do you mean by that. I’m not listening to you, you almost broke my partner by running away. You could’ve told him. Your parents are dead as well by the way.” He hisses back. As far as he cares, Matt is responsible for Danny leaving.

 

The rest of the guys are already around the table, chatting and laughing. The SAS guy’s have taken off their masks and he swears he recognises them.

 

“Hey McGarrett! Never got to congratulate you for getting Hesse!” One calls, the British Sailor from the docks, if he remembers rightly.

 

“Was that a set up?” He asks, suspicious.

 

The other smiles, “Nah, you found the safe-house all by yourself, you just had some help from my unit.”

 

“Were all of you on the island?”

 

“Yep,” One replies, Snake, if he remembers correctly, “You got us Foxy back, must thank you for that as well.”

 

“Oh please stop calling me that!” 

 

He swings around to where this ‘Foxy’ is standing, holding a number of bottles. He’s speechless and suddenly Matt’s warning makes sense.

 

“So…I can explain” Danny says, dropping back into his, obviously fake, Jersey accent.

 

“I thought you were in New Jersey!”

 

“Nope, Wales mostly. I don’t actually have any family there, have two sisters in England though”

 

“Then who’s Matt?”

 

“CIA grunt and constant bane of my existence”

 

“Rude..” Matt mutters.

 

Danny rolls his eyes and makes his way over to the table dumping the bottles down, “I think me and Steve here need to have a talk, enjoy yourselves” He says, grabbing his arm and dragging him into an empty lounge room, closing the door behind him.

 

“You know, Matt said not to kill you, but right now, it’s looking pretty likely” He says rounding on Danny, whose leaning casually against the wall.

 

“Well, I may have lied about where I was going, and what I was doing, and why I was going, and that Trey was my brother, and that I’m from New Jersey. But apart from that, the rest is all true”

 

He rolls his eyes, “Is Danny even you real name”

 

‘Danny’ flinches and raises his shoulders, looking guilty, “Actually no, it’s Ben Daniels”

 

“And your parents aren’t dead?”

 

“Happily retired on a little farm in Surrey”

 

“And about getting to triple banana level on paceman?”

 

“Hey!” Danny protests loudly, “That _was_ true!”

 

“Is Rachel even your ex-wife?”

 

“Yes, and Grace is my daughter”

 

“Huh, so I guess that’s how you got to the British consulate so quickly when it was ambushed”

 

“Yep”

 

“So are you coming back now?”

 

Danny frowns and looks a little sad, “I’m SAS, as in employed by them, I can’t just leave, it would be unfair on my unit”

 

“Resign, come back” He says, wanting it more than he ever knew.

 

Danny lets out a humourless laugh, “Would if I could babe, but it’s not that simple. I’m under contract as well, MI6, and there’s no way I’m gonna get out of it easily”

 

“But…Danny…please?” He begs.

 

Danny pulls away from the wall and comes over to him laying a comforting hand on his shoulder, “It was never meant to be this way. Danny Williams was always temporary, I guess I still have to use it because of Grace…but I can’t go back to Five-0 Steve, you have to understand that”

 

He growls and slams his hand against the wall, splintering the dry wall, “It’s like you don’t even want to fucking try! Do you not care about us at all?! I guess I was wrong about you, I thought you were a good man _Danny._ But you’re just a fake” He says, the last part barely above a whisper.

 

He doesn’t wait for Danny’s response, just shrugs the hand off and pushes past him to get out. They looks like he wants to intervene but wisely stays silent with the glare he levels at him.

 

“We’re going, got things to be doing, _like our jobs.”_ He says icily to the SAS guys, who look at him with a mix of boredom and surprise.

 

“I guess we can’t help the whole Romeo and Juliet thing, we’ll never let Foxy live it down. We’ll be off then, pleasure to meet you all. If you’re ever in England, come hit us up, we’ll show you proper beer” Wolf says pleasantly, standing up and shaking all their hands. He stands there resolutely with his arms crossed.

 

They head back down, Danny emerging from the room and joining them, he doesn’t once look back. 

 

He doesn’t know why he’s hoping he does.

 

—————————

 

_Hawaii - Six Months Later._

 

It’s been a year to the day since Danny called him at a stupid time in the morning to say he was going back to Jersey to deal with his ‘parent’s death’s’. Betray them all more like. Sometimes, when he feels too lonely in the house on his own, he wishes that they hadn’t caught Hesse, then he could’ve lived the lie a little longer.

 

Chin and Kono don’t know the truth, as far as they’re concerned, Danny’s transferred back to Newark to be closer to his family after their recent ‘loss’, (loss of any trust or integrity). He could tell they were suspicious at first, but as the months went by, it changed to resignation and now it’s just an accepted fact that Danny’s not coming back.

 

Meka’s become a permanent transfer now, and he’s good, but he’s no Danny. Then again, there wasn’t really a Danny to begin with. Just a fake, a mask, a cover. And he still feels betrayed ever single fucking day.

 

There’s been no contact between them, and in some ways he’s glad, he has no idea what he’d say to Danny if they saw each other again. But at other times he longs for the phone to ring, or even a fucking postcard would do. He assumes Danny’s alive, but he can’t be sure.

 

He’s at the beach with Grace, giving her a surfing lesson, something that she’d persuaded her mom into a few months ago. They’re just going up together when she pipes up.

 

“Uncle Steve, guess what mom told me today! We’re going to England for summer! She says we’re going to see Danno!”

 

Definitely alive then, and he’s relieved about that, Grace needs her father.

 

“Really!” He says excitedly and she nods and grins. “You should say hi to him for me” He says, hoping she’ll forget and not actually tell him, he’s coping without this new absence.

 

“Yes, I’ll make sure. You should write him a letter! He always loves mine. I bet he misses you too” She says, completely unaware of how much he can’t do that.

 

“Maybe if I have the time. Keeping the Islands safe is a very busy job”

 

“Yeah, Danno’s in the Army now, he says that that’s why he sometimes misses our phone calls.” She says sadly.

 

He wonder why he hasn’t heard anything about this until now, maybe Rachel said something to her. Still, maybe a letter isn't an awful idea…

 

————————

 

Steve’s sitting at home that evening, blank document open on his laptop. He sighs and taps his fingers against the desk. This was an awful idea, he doesn’t even know who to address the letter to.

 

In the end he settles with ‘Danno’, since he’s in a spiteful mood.

 

It seems to flow out of him after that, all his feelings and grievances over the last year. Even if he never sends it, it feels good to get it all out on paper.

 

Maybe it’ll all be alright after all.

 

————————

 

He decides not to send the letter after all, he prints it off and puts it in an envelope with Danny’s name on it, then he comes to the conclusion that what’s in there is too personal for someone he doesn’t really know anything about. 

 

He forgets about it after that, going back to the comfortable way things have been going. Keeping a polite distance from Chin and Kono, trying not to hate Meka for replacing Danny and desperately trying not to hate Danny even more than he already does.

 

He says goodbye to Grace at the start of June, he’s going to miss her over these summer months, but he’s been called up for a few missions over the next month, so he’ll be busy at least. He’s been thinking over giving five-0 over to Chin more often and taking more of these missions. Somehow, Hawaii just isn’t the same anymore. And he really misses the Camaro. He doesn’t know what happened to it after Danny left, he assumes it was sold. Pity, he would have liked to keep it, keep up some semblance of normalcy.

 

Little does he know, that he’ll be seeing it rather soon….

 

——————————

 

God, he’s missed her. As his not-so-little monkey comes dashing through the arrivals gate at Heathrow he bends down to scoop her up, holding back the tears that come to his eyes as he holds her close. Rachel and Stan stop behind. pleasant smiles on their faces.

 

He keeps hold of her as Stan takes charge of getting the bags off the carousel, chatting politely with Rachel. They’re a lot more civil now, having finally gotten over their divorce. They could almost be considered friends now.

 

He has the car parked right outside, an abuse of his badge, but Steve used to always do the same when Mary came over, so he figures it’s okay.

 

And why the hell is he still hung up over Steve. He still regrets what happened at Reyes’ place and how he handled it, he’s cut off all communication, hoping that Steve will move on, he doesn’t deserve to be treated like that. He’s such a shitty person.

 

But it doesn’t stop him hoping for something, anything, even a pineapple postcard would be enough, a text saying that he hated him, just some acknowledgement that Steve remembers that he _exists_. Chin and Kono still think he’s in Jersey, and he kept up semi-regular contact with them. He’s weaning though, hoping they’ll forget about ‘Danny Williams’ as Steve seems to have.

 

But he has to play the part again for now, while Grace is here. He’ll tell her the truth when she’s older, but now he’s her ‘Danno’.

 

Once he has them all seated in the face Range Rover that MI6 had so helpfully ‘given’ (bribed) him with, he drives out, he’s always hated airports and he’s glad to get on the open road. Well, as open as any road in the South-East gets at least.

 

“Danno.” Grace says suddenly from the seat behind him, Stan is up front with him and her and Rachel are in the back, “I have a letter for you, from Steve” She says suddenly, rummaging in her rucksack.

 

He very nearly swears and runs the car off the road. His prayers have been granted, but now it comes to it. Can he handle it? He’d hoped Steve had moved on for his sake, then again, maybe all the letter says is ‘fuck you’.

 

In the end he takes a deep breath and tightens his grip on the wheel, “That’s nice monkey, how about you save it till we get to your grand-parents place, alright?”

 

“He’s been giving me surfing lessons, I think he misses you. Can you be in the Army together?” She babbles on.

 

He doesn’t want to have to explain to her that not only are the SAS, SEALs and Army all completely different, but that the USA and Britain do not have a joint-army. 

 

“Well I have to keep Britain safe from the bad guys, and Steve needs to keep Hawaii safe for you” He explains as diplomatically as possible.

 

She pouts and it takes Rachel waving a bar of dairy milk in front of her to stop her asking any more questions.

 

Any other thoughts are quickly put out of his mind when they pull up outside the farm, his parents fawn over Grace and show them in before taking them up to their rooms. He has his old room, above the barn, while Grace has the room next to Rachel and Stan.

 

He takes Grace out to see the horses while his parents, Rachel and Stan all have a cup of tea. It’s probably not normal to have your ex-wife’s new husband with you, but then again, Stan’s NSA and his parents are both retired MI5. It’s not like they’re a normal family.

 

The subject of the letter doesn’t come up again until the next day, when Grace comes running into his room, already dressed in her new riding gear, waving the envelope. He blearily registers as she places it on the nightstand before jumping on his bed and asking if they can go do the horses.

 

He will forever love his mother for putting a small kitchen area in an old stable, so he can make himself some nuclear coffee before helping Grace make up the feeds and distribute them. After they’ve mucked out, groomed _and_ plaited up most of the horses. His mother finally emerges, smiling at not having to do any of the morning chores. He offers her a helpless look from where he’s helping her tack up Poe, her pony. Mahogany, his horse is looking on moodily from where he’s tied up.

 

“I see you’ve already done all the work” She remarks with a smiles, helping Grace put Poe’s bridle over his ears.

 

“Yeah, Gracie here’s a real slave-driver”

 

“Dannnoooo, can we go out now? I want to go for a gallop in the forest!” Grace protests, ignoring his comment, as she does up the throat-lash and noseband.

 

He laughs and gives his mother a look before turning back to Grace, “Okay monkey, go put your helmet on and I’ll give you a leg up” He says and she runs off back into the barn to get it. 

 

“That child has far too much energy” His mother laughs.

 

“Don’t I know it” He replies.

 

——————

 

He finally gets to open the letter later, after dinner and Grace has gone to bed. Curled up on the old sofa under the window. It has the word ‘Danno’ scrawled on the front and he smiles at the nickname and all the shit he gave him over it. He tears it open and begins to read.

 

_Dear Danno._

 

_I fucking hate you, you know that? You betrayed us all by leaving, going back to whatever the hell you’re doing now. I thought we had something good going on, you, me, Chin and Kono. We were Five-0, Ohana Danny! But I guess that means nothing to you._

 

_And truth is, despite how much I hate your uptight British guts, I miss you. Like a limb. I miss your ranting, and even your stupid ties. As much as you hate Hawaii, it’s not the same without you. Sometimes I still get out two beers after work, forgetting that you’re not there anymore. I get mixed up, wondering why you haven’t pulled up outside my house in the mornings. You left one of your ties at my place as well, you can come get it if you want…_

 

_I’ve been thinking of going back to the Navy, giving Five-0 to Chin. I may have come back to Hawaii because of my dad but it was you that made me stay. Now that you’re gone, there’s not a lot left_

 

_I didn’t even know if you were dead or not, it was only when Grace told me she was going to England for summer that I knew for sure. I’ve been teaching her to surf, and she’s really good Danny._

 

_I guess what I really want to say here is that I want you back. Here, in Hawaii, with me. At five-0. We’ve got Meka now, but he’s not as good as you, and his car isn’t as nice. I loved our ‘carguments’ . I loved having you ranting next to me, it was soothing, grounding._

 

_I don’t even know if I’ll send this, but if I do there’s three things I want you to remember:_

 

  1. _I love you and miss you more than I probably should._
  2. _Hawaii isn’t as bad as you think._
  3. _Grace is here and she misses you loads too._



 

_Please come back_

 

_Steve_

 

Okay, he has to do something about this.

 

————————————

 

He’s bone-deep exhausted. This last mission was a bitch and now he’s coming through Honolulu international trying not to pass out or kill someone. He ignores all the women casting appreciating glances at him and strides straight through the arrivals hall and out into the humid afternoon.

 

He’s about to hail a taxi from the rank when he spots something that makes him almost drop his bag and faint in shock.

 

There, leaning against a car he thought he’d never see again, is Danny. Dressed in stupid shirt and slacks, and…yep, there’s the tie, the blue silk one that’s been on his coffee table for the last year. Wait, that means Danny’s been to his house. This is way oo much to handle now.

 

He stops about six feet away, frozen and unable to go any further, he opens and closes his mouth, trying to formulate a sentence. Anything to convey the emotional swirling around inside him.

 

Danny looks at him softly and holds up the keys, dangling them in front of him.

 

“Just like old times?” He says with a questioning tone, Jersey accent replaced by something that sounds more like Rachel.

 

It’s pure instinct that allows him to grab the keys, chuck his bag in the truck and climb in the drivers seat. Sighing when he has to adjust it for his longer legs. Danny’s too fucking short.

 

Danny says nothing next to him as he drives away, he’d go back to his house, but he figures that they need somewhere neutral to clear the air. 

 

In the end he goes to the lookout, the one that Danny had confessed to liking, only after getting extremely drunk one time at his place. He smiles at the memory.

 

He skids to a stop and almost throws himself from the car to escape the weird air between them, he stumbles to the wall and sits down on it, putting his head in his hands. He’s going to need like…ten drinks after this.

 

He feels more than sees Danny sits silently next to him, close but not touching.

 

There’s about five minutes where the only sounds are the occasional car passing by and his laboured breathing. Smooth McGarrett.

 

“So I got your letter” Danny says suddenly.

 

What? Letter? How the hell did he get it? Oh shit, Grace, she must have picked it up on the coffee table when she was around his house one time. It had his name on it.

 

“You sounded pretty desperate” He continues.

 

Desperate? That’s the only fucking word he could think of? Heart-broken, lonely and betrayed would have been better.

 

“And I guess I just assumed that you’d forget about me, move on. I should’ve known, you’re not normal, never was. I guess I was deluding myself as well.”

 

He looks up and nails Danny with a pleading look, a look that says, ‘please don’t lead me on, lie to me again, I can’t take it’

 

“Truth is Steve, I guess the SAS wasn’t the same after I came back after you as well. I came to Hawaii for Grace, but it was you who mades this stupid island bearable. With you stupid ‘field trips’ and insisting on dragging me around for steaks every Friday night.”

 

Danny lets out a sigh and swings his legs over the wall, so he’s facing out over the view, swinging his legs back and forwards.

 

“My unit, we’ve split up. A mutual decision. We’re older now and saving the world and serving Queen and Country isn’t as important anymore. I’m not the only one with a family.”

 

Their eyes meet and he looks up hopefully at Danny. The man he’s missed so much, wanted back more than anything, who has missed and longed for him too. He’s 99% sure this is some fucked up dream and he’ll wake up cold and alone in the house that seems empty now that Danny’s loud voice isn’t filling it more often than not.

 

“I’m back, for good it seems. I got a job at the Consulate and doing some liaison work with the CIA. It’s only part time, so I guess I could…if you wanted me…come back to Five-0…maybe?” Danny says nervously, writing his hands together before running them both through his hair. A sure sign he’s fucking scared. That makes two of them.

 

“I…” He has no idea what to say now, now this moment has come, all he’s wanted this past year: Danny, back at Five-0, where he belongs.

 

“Steve? You okay? Please don’t kill me? You can hate me and never want to talk to me again, I kinda deserve that”

 

He’s not sure what makes him do it, maybe the culmination of all the emotions that are running through him right now. He closes the distance between them, throws his arms around Danny and pulls him in for a kiss, cradling the back of his neck in one hand, while the other strokes down that stupid shirt, encasing the hard muscle underneath.

 

Danny responds after a moment of hesitation, kissing back with just as much intensity and locking his arms tight around him. He ignores the fact that they’re both out in public, making out, like teenagers. He’s more focussed on the fact that this is _Danny._ The man he’s pretty sure he loves, the man that, after everything, came back after all.

 

Danny pulls away first, eyes closed and panting, he keeps their foreheads pressed together though, one hand clamped on the back of his neck to hold him there. He’s doing the same and they just spend a minutes breathing the same air after so long, too long, apart.

 

“I’m sorry, for everything” Danny mumbles, pressing a chaste kiss to his lips.

 

“I know, I want you back, at Five-0, at my house, everything Danny, I want _everything.”_ He replies.

 

Danny chuckles against his skin before pulling away fully, trailing his hand down his back to interlink it with his own.

 

“Okay babe, I can do that” 

 

He can’t help but hug him again, still overcome with emotion.

 

The ride back down into the city is a lot more relaxed, he puts the radio onto something he knows Danny will hate, just to provoke a rant that he’s missed like everything else about Danny.

 

They have to stop at Danny’s hotel to pick up his stuff. And it brings him great joy to find out that Danny actually hates wearing long shirts and ties, but due to the scars marring his body, he didn’t have a choice.

 

“I’ll have to get Chin, Kono and Meka to sign the Official Secrets Act” Danny says to him conversationally as they’re walking out of the hotel, each carrying a bag.

 

“I guess the consulate can sort that out for you” He replies, stuffing the bags in the trunk.

 

“I suppose, but I guess it’s just gonna be weird, I mean, it’s been a year, what if they hate me for lying?” Danny argues, waving his arms around in that cute way he does.

 

“Danny” He says seriously, “They miss you and they’ll understand, don’t worry about it. We’ll get it sorted tonight and you can go see them tomorrow” He states calmly.

 

Danny takes a deep breath and thumps back in his seat, “Sure, okay, right now, I just want to go home

 

It makes him feel all fluffy inside to hear Danny refer to his house as ‘home’. And it’s true, for him, his house isn’t his home without Danny. Pity it took him this long to realise it. If he had to say, it was back in Columbia that it first started showing.

 

It’s by silent agreement that they go straight out onto the lanai, stopping only to pick up two beers out of the fridge. It brings a smile to his face that he doesn’t have to put the second one back after realising his mistake.

 

They sit in a comfortable silence, neither one of them in a hurry. As they watch the sun slide toward the horizon, bottles dangling lazily from their hands, fingers entwined.

 

They’ve got all the time in the world.


End file.
